Month: July 2015

PORTLAND—I’m a commercial broker, and I help people lease property to be used for medicinal and recreational marijuana. I got into it by accident. I was in real estate for years, and the market crashed. Then I found people who needed help. My job is a job—it segued into activism.

Don’t live to work. If you’re starting out and looking for the surest thing, it’s find your passion. I used to be an artist. Don’t sell out because I did.

This interview has been lightly edited and paraphrased.

Timshel Purdum, director of education and lifelong learning at The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, on the importance of a career that challenges and intrigues:

WYOMING—I was doing research on heat shock proteins in water, which is really important but didn’t involve humans. I like talking to people about science. So I went back to school for science education and went to work at the academy. My job is helping people understand the world and their place in it.

The fun thing about being a science educator is I get to read ALL about science. Doesn’t your brain turn to mush if you don’t use it? Isn’t that a thing? I get to keep learning. There’s always something crazy going on. You’re never bored.

This interview has been lightly edited and paraphrased.

Kara Napule is a grad student studying elementary education, but she was formerly in the finance world. Here’s her advice on negotiating salaries:

St. Paul, MN—People go into interviews, and they’re not prepared. Do your research. Look up how to negotiate. Look through LinkedIn, and find someone in the company. If you hear a number and feel that there’s more that they can give you, don’t back down.

Mt. Horeb, WI—There’s only so much planning you can do. At some point you have to be willing to jump off the ledge, and go for it. And that’s really scary. I’m afraid of failure. I critique myself all the time. With something like this I have to realize that I’m not perfect, and I’m never going to be perfect. And that’s tough, but it’s worth it. It’s the best job ever.

If you don't speak Spanish, "Los Patiperros" is a slang term for globetrotters. It literally translates to wandering the streets like a dog. If you do speak Spanish—I'm sorry.
Ninety-five percent of these posts are true. Five percent are a wonderful exaggeration.
By Mollie Bloudoff-Indelicato. I used to live in Lima, Peru. I've visited every state in the U.S., and I've been to ALL SEVEN CONTINENTS! For now, I call Washington, D.C. home base.